Can you guess what this is? I’m on the Sweet Romance Reads blog today with a little info on the strange sweet my character is making in A Dangerous Stage . Check out the blog post here.

I know, I'm waaaaay behind the times but we recently watched the last few episodes of this past season of The Sing Off (we had taped it on TiVo). I’m so excited because my favorite team won! It was so awesome so see 98 Degrees sing! I always liked how in their music videos they didn't quite seem to take themselves seriously. My favorite song from them was "Invisible Man" which to my teenage mind was just the Most. Romantic. Song. Ever. I dreamed of some hot guy pining after me, as unlikely as that was. I mean, seriously, who is going to pick some other chump over Nick Lachey??? So in A Dangerous Stage , when George sings to Tessa (and makes Charles a bit grumpy) in chapter 7, I had him sing “Invisible Man.” Because, you know, it’s the Most. Romantic. Song. Ever. Aren’t they just adorably cheesy????? Okay, ’fess up. Did any of you also have a secret fondness for 90s boy bands????

Those of you who’ve read A Dangerous Stage will recognize a new character I introduced in that book, Steven Nishimoto, who interacts with Charles a bit. My character Steven created the company Neesh, the most high-profile computer company in San Francisco. The profits from Neesh rival Apple. Steven is half-Asian (half Japanese), tall with the regal bearing of a prince. He’s lean, muscular, and athletic, with a shaved head and hazel eyes. He’s 55 years old, but he’s run 10 marathons and is in training for a new one after taking a hiatus from running for several years. When I was writing the book, I was groping for a name for this character and that’s when I decided to use the name of a young man I know from church, the “real” Steven Nishimoto! Captain Caffeine and I were youth leaders for the real Steven Nishimoto when he was in high school, and now that he’s out of college, he has taken over as youth director for our church youth group. (So basically, after we were his youth l...

A few weeks ago, my parents were in town and we went to Shuei-Do, a shop in San Jose Japantown that sells mochi and manju. Mochi is a rice cake made with sweet rice that’s been pounded into this sticky, slightly chewy texture. It can be a plain dumpling (my grandma adds it to soup for New Year’s) or it can be filled with a variety of things like sweet red bean paste (azuki or adzuki), sweet white bean paste, and even peanut butter or fresh strawberries. My family always has a mochi-making session before New Year’s so Grandma has mochi for the traditional mochi soup. Update: I found this video I’d made years ago of my grandma and my mom making mochi for New Year’s! Even though my grandma usually only ever made mochi in late December, there are some families who make sweet mochi (for snacks or desserts) throughout the year just like Shuei-Do and other mochi shops. So in a scene in A Dangerous Stage where Tessa is visiting Mrs. Akaogi, I have her making mochi. Mrs. Akaogi i...

Katsudon (tonkatsu donburi) Heather H. on Facebook asked me about this when she was reading A Dangerous Stage , and she suggested I blog about it, so this post is all because of her. :) Katsudon is a pork cutlet with a Japanese style "gravy" over rice. It's not what you'd think of as traditional Southern gravy, it's more like a lighter teriyaki sauce, which has eggs in it. Captain Caffeine loves this dish, which is one of the reasons it's in A Dangerous Stage . When I was writing the scene, I was trying to think of food for them to eat and this was the first thing to come to mind. This recipe is closest to what I envisioned when I wrote that scene in Nez's restaurant. Instead of dashi, I usually use beef or chicken stock, and for the cutlets, I usually use regular breadcrumbs, but if you have panko, then totally use that. If you ever get a chance to order this in a Japanese restaurant, it'll probably be a little more fancy, but it'll taste e...

I’m on Relz reviewz today! I’m doing a giveaway of A Dangerous Stage ! Go to Relz's blog to enter!

Source: tumblr.com via Camy on Pinterest In-N-Out, one of my fav burger joints, makes an appearance in the first chapter of A Dangerous Stage . It's a chain on the West Coast and Hawaii, I'm not sure how far east they have restaurants. They don't freeze any of their food, it's all fresh, including the buns and the french fries. When you order, you can see them use this french fry hand-crank machine to make their fries, it's pretty cool. The specific restaurant in A Dangerous Stage doesn't exist at that location, but there's a couple of them near me and I go there way too often than is good for me, but it's oh-so-yummy!

Source: sanjoseparks.org via Camy on Pinterest This is a nice picture of Almaden Lake park, which is where Tessa goes to in a scene in A Dangerous Stage . The houses in the distance are also the ones mentioned in the scene! Don't forget to pick up book 2 in the Protection for Hire series, A Dangerous Stage ! On sale now!

Source: jessica-alba-wallpapers-hot.blogspot.com via Camy on Pinterest When I wrote Tessa Lancaster in Protection for Hire, I envisioned her looking like Jessica Alba, especially for her fight scenes since I had watched the TV series Dark Angel. :) Don't forget to pick up book 2 in the Protection for Hire series, A Dangerous Stage ! On sale now!

How cool is this?! USA Today’s romance blog, Happily Ever After, gave a fantastic review of my latest Protection for Hire book, A Dangerous Stage ! Click here to check out the review ! And please be sure to comment and let the reviewer, Serena Chase, know that she rocks!!!!

I’m over at Diana’s blog today with a guest blog post about the televised singing competition in A Dangerous Stage ! Click here for the guest blog post!

I’m over at ChristiansRead.wordpress.com today talking about a recurring character in my books and recurring characters in general. Be sure to hop over to weigh in!

Isn't he a cutie? This is actor Bradley Cooper. He's what I envision my hero Charles from Protection for Hire looking like.